Theos-Talk Archives (September 1999 Message tt00139)

In a message dated 9/6/99 7:16:01 PM, alpha@dircon.co.uk writes:

>>>>As an additional stimulus to seeking out guidance, it should be noted
>that nowhere in Theosophical teachings are there any EXPLICIT instructions as
>to EXACTLY **HOW** TO MEDITATE.  I've spoken to a great number of 
Theosophists
>regarding this, mostly in ULT, and it is agreed -- we as a group have but a
>few loose ideas on how to meditate, what posture should be used, how to focus
>the mind (even though we are enjoined to meditate a half hour or more every
>day!).  And we have but a few meditation books (in rough translation) such
>as Patanjali's YOGA APHORISMS -- but not a single qualified teacher of that
>book.  No one I'm aware of would claim to have mastered that yogic tradition
>-- after 100 hundred years of practice. >>>

How can we be so sure? And, what makes us think that we have only a "rough 
translation" of Patanjali's Yoga Aphorisms?  And, who do we think is capable 
of "qualifying" a teacher of Patanjali -- other than Patanjali himself?  
Besides, I know at least one student who has mastered that yogic tradition 
without a living guru, after less than ten years of study and practice.  The 
trick, I'm told, was to contemplate each aphorism until thoroughly understod 
before going on to the next, communicate directly with the Master through WQJ 
and HPB whenever necessary, and ask just the right questions at the right 
times.  I'm sure that WQJ, who made that transliteration (not translation), 
as a "qualified" Sanskrit scholar and a "master" of English prose, was enough 
of an adept to be able to give those who can "think" (correctly in English 
about his descriptions and correlate them with the hints scattered throughout 
his and HPB's books and pamphlets) enough "instructions" to fully understand 
"exactly how to meditate" with the heart doctrine in the mind, and the goal 
of "self realization to be better able to help and teach others" in the heart.

It's unfortunate that there are students of theosophy today who want 
everything handed to them on a silver platter and avoid doing the hard study 
necessary to fully understand all the information given us by HPB and WQJ in 
a language designed solely for western educated students whose "thinking" is 
in English, and who are also dedicated and trustworthy theosophists.  Of 
course, such study is made intentionally difficult and obscure, since if it 
were not, everyone could easily access the siddhis and do inestimable damage. 
 Students should understand that much of the "advanced" teachings have been 
intentionally "blinded" by certain linguistic tricks such as "circularities," 
"misdirections," and other "scattering" techniques to prevent just such a 
catastrophe... And, that there is actually nothing missing, esoterically, in 
theosophical teachings that a true theosophist could not find after diligent, 
self devised and self determined efforts over long periods of time through 
each successive stage -- while picking up many built-in hidden tests, 
signposts and hints along the way.  Of course, these times would vary greatly 
depending on ones chela or adept status due to efforts in previous lives.  I, 
for one, over a 40 year period of study and practice have found all of the 
most important information scattered among the whole assemblage of HPB's and 
WQJ's writings (including their personal correspondences) that were promised 
to be disclosed in volumes 3 and 4 of the SD, which none of us, supposedly, 
has ever seen -- or, so the pundits say, have ever been published. (Ha, ha.)  
However, I leave it to each of you to search all this out for yourselves, and 
can offer no further short cuts or hints that might not be approved by HPB or 
WQJ.
>
>Thanks for your remarks about meditation Rich.
>
>Did any of the many Theosophists you asked, or will you, comment on why
>there aren't any explicit instructions in the Theosophical teachings?

How many is "many"?  Rich never did ask me, or any of the "many" associates I 
know in ULT.  So, I'll take it on myself to answer your question.  Can you 
understand that the reason why both of you (and, probably, most other 
theosophical students) can't see any explicit instructions in the 
theosophical teachings, is that these teachings, if they are to be useful to 
true (meaning trustworthy) theosophists only, must be entirely *implicit* as 
well as "blinded"?  Can you imagine the risks that were taken to give out 
these siddhi power teachings in such a totally materialistic time as this, 
and why the Masters took such pains to assure that they would not be adding 
oil to the flames of the greed that they knew would be gradually consuming 
our civilization as well as our planetary ecology and biodiversity?  

So, if you really want to find out how to "practice," stop running after self 
proclaimed gurus or other student pundits with pat answers, start asking the 
original teachers the right questions, buckle down to some hard study and 
deep thought, and look for the answers about how to meditate on all this 
*within* ALL their writings as well as in your own higher nature.  That's the 
only public hints I can give that wouldn't be trampled in the dust.  

Incidentally, all a so called "qualified" guru can give us, even if he 
carried the highest yogic credentials, would be "word of mouth" (probably 
with an Indian accent and equally tangled syntax :-) -- which may not even be 
half as useful as the words of HPB and WQJ in our own native language.  So 
why not stop wasting time writing these endless letters, and looking for 
gurus, hoping to get pat answers and hand holding, when we can all knuckle 
down to private study and practice, chew our own cuds, and achieve our own 
enlightenment in the shortest possible time -- so we can start being useful 
to the movement on a practical level.  It's either that or go join a Buddhist 
sangha or Hindu ashram and spend the rest of our lives contemplating our 
navels.  

Best wishes (whichever way any of us chooses to go :-)

LHM

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